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Will Users Like the New Facebook Like Button?

posted on April 21, 2010

Facebook has announced that it is giving people a chance to tell their friends even more about what they like. With the introduction of a “Like” button that will appear on partner sites, Facebook users can easily share content that they find “valuable” with their Facebook friends. So we are now left to wonder if the new feature for Facebook will be a winner or like, a loser.

The Wall Street Journal reports from the f8 Facebook developer conference

A centerpiece of the changes involves a simple button, offered to other Web sites, that says “Like.” For free, other Web sites can install a Facebook “Like” button that users can click on to signal their interest in a piece of content, such as a band or an article. The user’s approval then shows up on his or her Facebook page, with a link back to the site.

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The Only 5 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools You’ll Need

posted on April 21, 2010

During PubCon South’s Online Reputation Monitoring & Management panel, I was asked to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart: social media monitoring!

I resisted the urge to basically tell everyone to head to Trackur for their free account–after all, I had 15 minutes to pad out–and instead shared the free tools I think get the job done.

I won’t spoil the surprise by revealing the free social media monitoring tools I discuss in my presentation–you’ll just have to flip through the slides below. ;-)

5 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools You Need
View more presentations from Andy Beal.
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Yahoo Earnings Up On Search Deal Hopes

posted on April 21, 2010

Yahoo’s earnings are looking up already from the MicroHoo deal. Microsoft and Yahoo have managed to remind investors by “finalizing” the deal every quarter since its announcement. This time, however, it was the DoJ that gave them that boost when it finally approved the deal in February.

Along with the beginning of reimbursement payments, it looks like the deal was enough to persuade investors and advertisers alike. Reports CNET:


Revenue in the first quarter was $1.6 billion, up just 1 percent from the first quarter of last year. Excluding traffic acquisition costs, net revenue was $1.13 billion, or roughly flat with analyst expectations of $1.17 billion. Revenue from display advertising on Yahoo’s site grew 20 percent compared to the prior year.

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China Cyber Attack Targeted Google’s Password System

posted on April 21, 2010

Although hardly a week has passed that we haven’t heard about the Chinese hacking attack on Google since Google announced the accusations in January, but still, we know very little about the attack itself. Aside from the fact that the attack targeted Chinese human rights activists’ Gmail accounts, and that dozens of other companies were also hit, Google has held its secrets close.

The New York Times may have hit upon that secret, though—and it’s a doozy:

a person with direct knowledge of the investigation now says that the losses included one of Google’s crown jewels, a password system that controls access by millions of users worldwide to almost all of the company’s Web services, including e-mail and business applications.

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Google Eyeing Travel Software Maker?

posted on April 21, 2010

One of the latest rumors that is swirling around Google and its continued efforts to expand into just about everything, is suggesting that the search giant is eyeing ITA Software. The company that is based in Cambridge, MA could be asking in the $1 billion range. Not bad for a company that most have never heard of. Of course, when you learn what they do you can see where the value lies. Bloomberg BusinessWeek tells us more

Google Inc. is in talks to acquire ITA Software Inc., a maker of travel programs used by companies including Orbitz Worldwide Inc. and Microsoft Corp., three people familiar with the matter said.

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11% Original Content + 89% Duplicate Content = Google Buzz

posted on April 21, 2010

“Andy, when are you going to add Google Buzz monitoring to Trackur?”

I think Google Buzz was barely a couple of days old, when I was first asked that question.

My response?

I wanted to wait and see how (if) people used Google Buzz, before deciding to jump on the bandwagon that other tools were so quickly willing to hitch a ride on.

Now–I’m trying to not look so smug–it appears that decision was a fortuitous one. PostRank is reporting that 89% of all content on Google Buzz is simply the duplication of stuff that can be found in Twitter or via blog feeds:

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Google Acquires Agnilux a “______” Company

posted on April 21, 2010

Today’s post title is going to be a joint effort.

I need your help to fill in the blank, because, quite frankly, no one appears to know what it was Agnilux did, before it was snapped up by Google.

The best we can tell is that it was started by former Apple and Cisco employees, it might have had something to do with servers, and that they were keeping tight lipped until they were ready to “make a splash.”

Well, they’ll never get their chance, because they’ve apparently decided to sell to Google for an undisclosed sum. Maybe Google will reveal what it was that interested them about Agnilux or maybe they’ll lock its founders in a room in the Googleplex and have them conduct dark (fiber?) experiments.